The present invention relates generally an apparatus for feeding tape to the postage meter of a mailing machine for printing of a postage indicia thereon, and more particularly to an improved tape feeding, cutting and ejecting apparatus which facilitates loading fresh rolls of tape, threading the lead edge of fresh tape through the apparatus and preventing operation of the apparatus if certain parts are not in a proper operating position.
The present invention is an improvement on the tape feeding, cutting and ejecting apparatus disclosed and claimed in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/180,163, filed on Jan. 11, 1994, in the names of Morton Silverberg, William A. Salancy and Steven A. Supron, and copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/180,161, filed on Jan. 11, 1994 in the name of John R. Nobile, William A. Salancy and Irena Makarchuk, both assigned to the assignee of this application.
Although the tape feeding, cutting and ejecting apparatus disclosed and claimed in the first above mentioned copending application worked in principle, it became apparent after building and operating that apparatus that it had a number of functional problems which would have a substantial adverse impact on the marketability of mailing machines incorporating that apparatus. One of these problems was that there was no provision for moving a tape holding device from a normal operating position within the confines of the mailing machine to an exposed position in which the tape holding parts of the apparatus were accessible to an operator who could then easily and quickly install a fresh roll of tape. One of the most important characteristics of mailing machines, considering the generally non-technical nature of most mailing machine users, is that the machines be "user friendly." A mailing machine in which the roll of tape can be replaced only with considerable difficulty is not user friendly.
Another problem with the prior machine was that it was difficult to initially thread the leading edge of a fresh roll of tape into the feeding, cutting and ejecting apparatus because of the manner in which the apparatus was mounted in the mailing machine. Again, if tape cannot be easily threaded into the apparatus by an average user, the mailing machine is not user friendly.
A still further problem was that the prior apparatus had no provision for sensing the end of the tape to prevent further operation of the apparatus after the tape supply became exhausted. One solution to this problem in any form of web feeding machine is to provide some form of mark on the web along a terminal portion thereof to advise an operator of the machine that there is only a small amount of tape or web left on the roll and that the roll should be replaced. This is satisfactory where marks on the web are acceptable during final operations of the machine. But in a postage meter, spurious markings on the tape along with the authorized postage indicia would not be acceptable.
Another deficiency with the prior apparatus was that there was no provision for preventing operation of the postage meter in the event that the door of the mailing machine which housed the feeding, cutting and ejecting apparatus was not fully closed. Thus, if an operator inadvertently pushed the appropriate "start" button with parts of the apparatus or the mailing machine out or normal operating positions, the machine could jam or otherwise malfunction, and possibly even be a safety hazard to the operator.